REDiaries: 2016

I live closer to mountains, which always make easier for me to escape to beautiful locations quickly. I was getting bored of killing my vacations at home doing nothing, so decided to trek to Valley of Gods:- Har Ki Dun. It is a cradle shaped valley in Garhwal region of Uttarakhand. It is surrounded by peaks and connected to Basapa valley by Borasu Pass. The local legend say that Pandavas used this route to reach heaven, but only Yudhistira made it with a dog through Swargarohini Peak.

First day of the trek started with early morning ride towards Taluka, which is a last point accessible by road on the way to Har Ki Dun. Taluka is a small village with few shops, dhabas and accommodation available for trekkers. It is 12kms from Sankri, a famous stop for Kedarkantha Trek and connected by a road or I would say a trail. It took an hour to reach Taluka as road is not in a good condition with 2-3 water crossings, yet it was beautiful ride through dense forest. It was getting dark when I checked in to a hotel, which is run by a lady from Purola. Resting for an hour I stepped out of my room to explore Taluka and for snacks. It is a small village with population of merely hunderds and one can view the beautiful wooden architecture. I came to a dhaba which is operated by GMVN serving delicious food and spent few hour in the warmth of "Wooden Chulla". They severed me wild mushrooms in dinner, which were collected early morning by the locals. After having my dinner I headed back to my room and slept early.

Chulla at GMVN, Taluka. Wild Mushrooms are being prepared for the dinner.

View from Forest Rest House at Taluka.

Shepherds heading back.

Next morning I got up early as it is going to be a long day and was trekking to Seema. It is an easy 12kms of trail which is parallel to the Supin River and takes you through dense forest and beautiful villages. On the way you can see many locals from neighboring villages and shops serving snacks for the trekkers. These shops are run by the locals and are one of the major source of income. I met few locals and they invited me to stay at their village, Gangarh for a day. Gargarh is a village at a distance of 4-5kms from Taluka and on the opposite side of the river. It is a beautiful village with scenic view of Himalayas and again fascinating wooden architecture. I continued my trek to Seema and reached there around 2pm, which was quite early. It was exhausting day and was having backache due to the weight of camping and other stuff I was carrying. I decided to pitch my tent next to Forest TRH, which later turned into a sleepless idea for night. After taking a nap I headed to Osla village. It is a small village beautiful architecture and Someswar Temple. It is said that Someshwar temple is dedicated to Duryodhana(eldest of Kauravas from Mahabharat) , but locals denied this story. It is sparsely populated and majority of population depends on cattle rearing, agriculture and tourism for livelihood. I roamed around in Osla for an hour or so and had tea with locals in their beautiful traditional house. It was getting dark, so headed back to my camp. It was complete dark in Seema and around my camp. I decided to sleep early but it turned into the sleepless night due to the rattling sound coming from back of my tent. I was afraid of the movement of wild animals and which made night scary and sleepless.

Trek through dense and beautiful forest to Seema.

Gangarh village with beautiful wooden houses.

Bridge at Gangarh.

First view of Seema.

Supin River.

Dhaba run by Mr. Doodha Ram.

Exploring Osla Village.

Someshawar Temple.

Made new buddies at Osla.

After a long sleepless night it was a beautiful morning and Mr.Dhooda Ram came to wake me up. He is a owner of a dhaba at Seema and one of the nicest person I have met.We started our trek after having breakfast and now I was accompanied with a group of trekkers met last night and Mr. Dhooda Ram who is also taking care of kitchen at GMVN in Har Ki Dun. It is 15kms long trek from Seema to Har Ki Dun and with few ascents and takes you deeper in to the valley. It was a beautiful trek with mesmerizing view of landscapes and mighty Himalayas standing tall in front of us. The view of Sawargarohini and Har Ki Dun peak was close and made me willing to climb them, though it was not possible. It took almost 6-7 hrs to reach Har Ki Dun and the first view of Valley of Gods was beautiful. I pitched my tent on the bank of Supin river and relaxed for the day with a cup of tea and maggi I prepared. I was mesmerised by the view around my tent and the Himalayas surrounding me. Taking rest for an hour I headed to GMVN for snacks and dinner. After dinner the trekkers I met earlier walked down with me for campfire. It was a beautiful night with the warmth of campfire on the bank of Supin river and under clear sky with millions of stars visible. We decided to trek together down straight to Taluka which is at a distance of 27kms and slept early.

Towards Har Ki Dun from Seema.

Huts made by shepherds.

Waterfall few kilometers before Har Ki Dun.

Beautiful landscape of Har Ki Dun.

Pitched my tent on the bank of Supin river.

Surrounded by mighty Himalayas.

Har Ki Dun peak at night.

It was a cold night at Har Ki Dun with the roar of Supin river. I got up early to pack my stuff and headed to GMVN for breakfast. We started trekking down to Taluka early morning and almost took whole day to descent down and from there I continued to Sankri and stayed for a night. I was exhausted and slept early as have to ride back to home next morning. I was going back home with lots of memories and new friends I made during the trek. I was so amazed with the honesty and the helpful nature of people I have met across the trek. It was one of the most memorable time I have spent in Himalayas.

Admiring Swargarohini Peak.

Har Ki Dun valley.

Bull at Sankri.

Heading back to Sankri.

Sour Village closer to Sankri.

Time to say goodbye to Sankri.

Heading back to home.

Thank You and I hope you like it.

Regrads
Priyavrat Tripathi.

It was one the most thrilling and beautiful day I will remember. I was entering Spiti Valley, where riding was like a dream coming true. After spending a night at Kalpa, Himachal Pradesh I kicked off to Tabo. It is a small village located in Spiti Valley at an altitude of 3,280mts close to Tibet border, north of Sutlej river. Ride to Tabo was mesmerising, terrain was changing from green to deserted to mysterious. I was only accompanied by my Enfield and river flowing parallel by my side on these roads. I could clearly feel the lonliness and peace of the place, riding my Enfield was like meditating with its thump. I was getting closer to Spiti, but was stopped by a landslide somewhere closer to Nako, waited almost 2hrs to move. Nako village located near Indo-Tibet border in region of Kinnaur district and is known for its lake and a monastery.

After spending an hour at Nako I continued to Tabo, but Gue is going to be my next stop. Gue is a small village which is famous for the mummified monk, Sangha Tenzin. I spent an hour at Gue exploring and continued my ride towards Tabo. Tabo is merely few kilometers from Gue and ride was not much eventful apart from the scenic deserted land of Spiti Valley. It was 5pm I touched Tabo around checked in to the hotel. There are plenty hotel and home stay accommodation at Tabo. Tabo is famous for oldest functioning Tabo Monastery in India and caves. The Monastery was founded by the King of Guge Kingdom of Western-Tibet Yeshe Od and the great translator Raichen Zangpo and is famous for paintings, murals and sculptures. The Monastery is also called as Ajanta and Elora of Himalayas. I roamed around few hours in the campus of Tabo Monastery and headed to caves. They say monks used to meditate in caves which can be seen on the hills of Tabo. It was a good day spent on roads and the village, Tabo. Next day I continued my ride towards Kaza with lots of good memories from Tabo.